AP Language and Composition Summer Reading Assignment Your ...

AP Language and Composition Summer Reading Assignment
Your summer assignment consists of the following, described in detail below:
I. Read Black Boy by Richard Wright and complete a rhetorical journal
II. Complete a 3-page rhetorical analysis
III. Complete the highlighted words for a rhetorical terms handbook that we will be adding to
throughout the school year.
Though we will reference and discuss various themes from Black Boy the first two weeks of school,
the first assignment will be due Wednesday, August 31, and the second assignment will be due
Tuesday, September 6. However, the rhetorical terms handbook will be due on the first day of
class. NO LATE WORK will be accepted! Not only will you be tested on this material within the first
few weeks of school, you will be assigned several extension activities throughout the year.
I. RHETORICAL JOURNAL: As you are reading Black Boy, pay close attention to the questions
listed on the rhetorical analysis reading guide. These questions will prepare you for the close
reading and analysis we will be doing this year.
While you read, you must complete a rhetorical journal, each journal must be typed with a
minimum header—name, date, journal title—no extra spacing between header and journal.
Your rhetorical journal must answer each of the questions listed on the critical reading guide.
For each question, rewrite the numbered question and write a brief answer, which includes
at least one specific, relevant quotation from the text with page number. Be sure to
explain how the quotation you selected to include supports the way you answered the
question. You DO NOT have to answer the questions in order. Rather, when you notice an
element of the book that fits into a critical reading question, do that question next. Just be
sure to number the questions for your instructor. You will also be required to post to
turnitin.com.
Rhetorical Analysis Reading Guide
When you are asked to do a “rhetorical analysis” of a text, you are being asked to apply critical
reading skills to break down the text into its “parts.” You determine what the writer is trying
to achieve, and what writing techniques he/she is using to achieve it.
Reading critically means more than just being moved, informed, influenced, or persuaded by a
piece of writing. Reading critically also means analyzing and understanding how the work has
achieved its effect. Below is a list of questions to ask when you analyze a piece of prose.
1. What is the thesis (the overall point) How does the thesis comment on the subject
2. What is the tone of the text What specific words contribute to that tone
3. What is the writer’s purpose (To explain To inform To persuade To motivate To
amuse) Is there more than one purpose Does the purpose shift all throughout the text
4. How does the writer arrange his/her ideas What are the patterns of arrangement
General to specific Specific to general Spatial Chronological
5. What is the sentence structure like in the text Does the writer use fragments or run-ons
Declarative Imperative Interrogative Exclamatory Are they simple Compound
Complex Compound-complex Short Long Periodic Loose Parallel Are there any
patterns in the sentence structure Can you make any connections between the patterns
and the writer’s purpose

6. How does the writer use diction Is it formal Informal Technical Jargon Slang Does
the language change throughout the piece How does the language contribute to the
writer’s purpose
7. Is there anything unusual in the writer’s use of punctuation What punctuation or other
techniques of emphasis (italics, capitals, underlining, ellipses, parentheses) does the writer
use Is punctuation over or under used Which marks does the writer use When And
for what effects (Dashes to create a hasty breathlessness Semi-colons for balance or
contrast)
8. Are important terms repeated throughout the text Why
9. Are there any particularly vivid images that stand out What effect do these images have
on the writer’s purpose
10. Are devices used to enhance meaning Which devices (similes, metaphors,
personification, hyperbole, etc.) does the writer use When does he use them Why
11. Does the writer use devices of humor Puns Irony Sarcasm Understatement Is the
effect pleasure Ridicule Comic relief
II. RHETORICAL ANALYSIS ESSAY: Your next task is to type a 3-page rhetorical analysis paper
based on the reading. Use your rhetorical journal to aid you in this task. Select one or two of
the questions you answered that you feel could use elaboration and discussion. Remember
that a rhetorical analysis focuses less on WHAT point the author is communicating, and more
on HOW an author communicates that point.
Your essay must include:
‣ A thought-provoking title
‣ An introduction with a thesis statement (the purpose the author conveys)
‣ A body discussing rhetorical strategies and giving specific examples (each topic sentence
MUST include a new rhetorical strategy that the author uses—you may need to look some
up).
‣ Include some direct quotes and some paraphrases from the novel (use correct MLA
parenthetical documentation.
• “This is sentence from the navel that is in my paper” (Smith 23).
‣ A conclusion that re-states the thesis and transcends beyond a summary of what you have
said
‣ AVOID PLOT SUMMARY
Due date: Tuesday, September 6. NO LATE PAPERS WILL BE ACCEPTED!!! You will be required to
post to turnitin.com.
III. RHETORICAL TERMS BOOKLET: Create a booklet that includes the following 101 rhetorical
terms, but only defines the highlighted 40 words. This booklet will require extensive
research. Many of the rhetorical terms are not listed in traditional dictionaries as they are
extremely specialized. Do not wait until the last minute to begin this project. Within the
booklet, the terms should all be numbered and in alphabetical order. Type the numbered
term, the definition of the term, and an example of the term. Please put spaces between
the term/definition and the example, or put them in different colors or fonts. (Anything to
make them easy to locate and read) Put a creative cover on your rhetorical terms booklet.
This booklet will serve as a reference for you to use during the year; therefore, take your time
and make this project as neat as possible.

This project is entirely independent. As always, students are held to all academic integrity
guidelines. Working together on this project is not only in direct violation of that policy, but is
also disrespecting your instructor, your classmates, and your own education.
Rhetorical Terms to include in your booklet:
1. Aesthetic
2. Allegory
3. Alliteration
4. Allusion
5. Ambiguity
6. Anachronism
7. Anadiplosis
8. Analogy
9. Anaphora
10. Anastrophe
11. Antanaclasis
12. Anthimeria
13. Antimetabole
14. Antithesis
15. Aphorism
16. Apostrophe
17. Appeals (logos,
pathos, ethos)
18. Assonance
19. Asyndeton
20. Author Purpose
21. Cacophony
22. Canon
23. Catharsis
24. Chiasmus
25. Claim
26. Cliché
27. Colloquial
28. Conceit
29. Connotation
30. Deductive
31. Denotation
32. Diction
33. Didactic
34. Digression
35. Discourse
36. Elegy
37. Ellipsis
38. Emphasis
39. Enthymeme
40. Epanalepsis
41. Epideictic
42. Epigraph
43. Epistolary
44. Epistrophe
45. Epitaph
46. Epithet
47. Eulogy
48. Euphemism
49. Euphony
50. Expletive
51. Explication
52. Figurative Language
53. Foreshadowing
54. Formal/Informal
Language
55. Hyperbole/Overstate
ment
56. Imagery
57. Inductive
58. Invective
59. Irony
(verbal/dramatic/situ
ational)
60. Juxtaposition
61. Litotes
62. Loose Sentence
63. Metaphor
64. Metonymy
65. Mood
66. Motif
67. Onomatopoeia
68. Oxymoron
69. Paradox
70. Parallelism
71. Parenthesis
72. Parody
73. Paronomasia/Pun
74. Pedantic
75. Periodic Sentence
76. Persona
77. Personification
78. Point of View
79. Polyptoton
80. Polysyndeton
81. Repetition
82. Rhetorical Question
83. Sarcasm
84. Satire
85. Simile
86. Speaker
87. Style
88. Syllepsis
89. Syllogism
90. Symbolism
91. Synecdoche
92. Synesthesia
93. Syntax
94. Thesis Statement
95. Tone
96. Transition
97. Trope
98. Understatement
99. Verisimilitude
100. Voice
101. Zeugma